


Getaway

by Minervas_Revenge



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 21:15:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7405105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minervas_Revenge/pseuds/Minervas_Revenge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione has been invited to the grand opening of Draco's private island resort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe you're going," Harry muttered distractedly; he was dangling a charmed rubber mouse on a string for Crookshanks' amusement.

 

Hermione didn't glance up from her suitcase. Her mind was cataloging the clothes she'd need for four days and she only heard Harry's comment as an afterthought.

 

"For the last time, Harry, I don't need to explain my friendship with Draco to you."

 

Harry let go of the string and the charmed mouse scampered into the hallway where growling and a snap signaled the toy's end. "He fancies you."

 

Hermione laughed in surprise but stopped when she caught Harry's eye. She sighed.

 

"He may think...” she let her sentence fade out, keeping a confidence given to her in a private, more desperate time. Harry would understand.  She shrugged. “He's like a little brother."

 

"And yet, you're going," Harry said pointedly.

 

Hermione went back to her packing. She wouldn't be lectured about her decisions. She'd been making her own decisions – and Harry's – for many years.

 

"I haven't taken a real vacation in three years. I need this. Did you, Harry Potter, _Chosen One,_ get an invitation to the most exclusive event of the century?"

 

Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione's jibe. Understanding that she was aware of his warning and done with the topic, he cautioned, "You're going to break his heart."

 

"He's not in love with me!" Hermione yowled, tossing a scarf at her friend's face.

 

Harry neatly folded the flimsy material, assuming Hermione would retaliate with a hex if he tossed it back at her.

 

Hermione was finished with the discussion and detested nothing so much as repeating herself. With a final flick of her wand, she settled the rest of her robes and accessories neatly into her suitcase.

 

"I'm starved," Hermione announced. She trailed Harry to the front door and followed him out to Disapparate away for an early dinner before she left.

 

**Arriving at the Island**

 

Hermione blinked, momentarily blinded by the sunset as she recovered from travel by Portkey. As her sight adjusted, she admired the ribbons of crimson and violet in the sky and their fractured reflection in the turquoise water. White sand powdered over her toes and she was glad that she wore her sandals – warmth lingered in the grains. The surf surged in soft waves that didn't overpower her ears. A feeling of peace settled in her; the island was calm and quiet.

 

Beyond the Portkey arrival spot was a teak footbridge that wound over black, igneous rocks and disappeared into lush greenery and palm trees. As she took in the panorama, Hermione heard footfalls on the wooden walkway. She picked up her suitcase and headed towards the sound. She couldn't wait to see the resort!

 

Draco met Hermione at the tree line and pulled her into a loose hug. Harry's warning flashed through her mind; she would not give Draco mixed signals. Determined to prove Harry wrong and enjoy her vacation, Hermione set aside the idea that Draco felt more than friendship for her.

 

"Show me everything," Hermione gushed.

 

"I'm glad you accepted my invitation," Draco offered. He charmed Hermione's suitcase to follow them along the path.

 

"I couldn't miss the event of the century," she grinned. She stopped mid-stride as she got a glimpse of the... mountain?

 

Draco was watching her, pale eyes aglow. "The rooms are carved into the rock; you can see the balconies if you look closely."

 

Before them rose a small mountain of the black rock. The balconies could be seen if you knew to look for them. Hermione noticed signs that there were others in the resort; light filled a balcony, a woman's laugh.

 

"Amazing," Hermione said and followed Draco to the resort's entrance.

 

The volcanic rocks decorated the sumptuous lobby along with greenery and teakwood.

 

"Mr. Malfoy, thank goodness! You have a guest without an invitation. I sat him in the lounge," murmured a skinny wizard in white. 'Skinny' gave Hermione a toothy grin and took over levitation of her suitcase.

 

Draco's face had gone empty of emotion, – something Hermione hadn't seen since their school days. He muttered an apology to her and stalked back the way they came.

 

"This way, Miss," 'Skinny' said.

 

Concerned for Draco, Hermione distractedly checked in at the desk and followed Skinny up to her room. Draco had given her a top-of-the-mountain suite. The room was huge and decorated in soothing cream and turquoise. From her balcony, in the fading light, Hermione could see a swimming pool, white beaches, and the ocean. She appreciated that guests may only arrive by Portkey: they didn't know where the island was located. The resort was, indeed, a getaway.

 

A tropical screech owl squawked from Hermione's balcony and she saw that it held a little scroll. She offered the little owl a macadamia from the bag she took from the minibar. The owl snapped up the nut and flew away, leaving the note behind.

 

It was an invitation to join Draco for dinner.

 

Hermione enjoyed the feel of the sultry night on her skin, her island-style barely-there dress fluttering as she moved. She walked leisurely through the lobby, past the pool, and into the open air lounge. The sight of another wizard at Draco's table gave her pause. His long hair was dark but his mannerisms – just the way he sat – screamed Malfoy. Draco and his companion stood as Hermione pulled out a chair.

 

"Hermione, this is my Uncle Cassius," Draco said in a tone that made Hermione look closer at him. He still wore his emotionless mask.

 

"Uncle, this is Hermione," he said.

 

Hermione noticed that Draco's uncle was holding out his hand. She shook it and smothered a gasp; he was a dead ringer for Lucius. Well, except for the dark hair, dark eyes, and rounder facial features.

 

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Cassius said.

 

"Likewise," Hermione answered, wondering if Draco and his father really thought they were fooling her.

 

A furious debate rattled through Hermione's mind. Unable to attend to Draco's questions and ignore his father's thin attempt at disguise, Hermione excused herself from the table. She felt Draco behind her and turned to face him at the bar. His face was paler than she'd seen it since... He was afraid. Lucius Malfoy was the Ministry's Most Wanted Wizard.

 

"Worst disguise ever," she said in a low tone.

 

"If he's recognized, it will be the end of my island," he whispered, eyes begging for her understanding.

 

Hermione's heart hurt for the pain in her friend. Since Harry's victory over the Dark Lord, she'd decided to become a neutral. No more sides. There were still battles between the dark and light but she had removed herself from it.

 

"If the Ministry learns he's here, it won't be from me," she finally replied.

 

Draco's shoulders sagged with relief.

 

"But, I can't sit at a table with him like that - and don't tell him I know," Hermione added, eyes flicking towards the brunette wizard still seated unconcernedly at the table.

 

Draco placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and gave it a grateful squeeze. His sincerity pierced Hermione and she wanted to tell him that she felt only friendship for him. It bubbled up from her toes but Draco returned to his father before Gryffindor courage could push the confession out from between her lips.

 

Drained by the roller coaster of discovering Lucius Malfoy on the island and wanting to clarify her feelings to Draco, Hermione decided to have dinner delivered to her room.

 

**The Next Morning**

 

Hermione drew her wand and swapped her robes for her swimsuit and sari. She grabbed up a towel and the book she'd been looking forward to reading, intending to relax in the comfort of warm sand. She took the elevator down and was trotting through the lobby when she spotted Draco. He sat with a couple at a table far into the shadows, looking intense, and Hermione thought it best not to bother him. She slowed her pace. There was something familiar about the witch with Draco...

 

Hermione knew that hair. It was Luna Lovegood!  The wizard beside Luna had to be her father, Xenophilius. Hermione would make a point to have a meal with them when they weren't in the depths of what appeared to be a serious discussion. She wondered if Draco was making peace with them as she followed a teak pathway towards another beach.

 

A wizard had beat Hermione to the spot she had picked from her balcony. He lay on a towel with an arm over his eyes. While Hermione had grown up among Muggles, she had become accustomed to only encountering wizards in robes. To see one in swim trunks with such a well-developed body made her start to blush, no matter that he was appropriately dressed for a beach. She looked around and decided to set up close to the lava rocks to allow them both some space.

 

As Hermione settled, she glanced at the wizard a couple of times but he didn't stir. With a little effort, she ignored the “extra” view and was soon lost in her book, lulled into serenity by the surf and sun. 

 

"What do you think, so far?"

 

Jarred from her story, Hermione blinked at the beach's other occupant. It was Lucius Malfoy and he was holding up the same book currently in her hands.

 

"I like the characters," she replied absently as she studied his face. How could he believe himself to be properly disguised?

 

"Yes, but the plot is weak," he offered in response.

 

"I keep waiting for something surprising to happen," she added.

 

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked, getting up to move closer.

 

"Not at all," Hermione said, wondering what he was after.

 

"I apologize for disrupting your dinner with Draco."

 

"Oh. You didn't disrupt anything," Hermione said.

 

"He was not as gracious as you," Lucius sighed, leaning back on his elbows.

 

Hermione couldn't help the color she felt rising up her neck. Lucius took _very_ good care of himself. She tore her gaze from the man's muscular stomach and legs and looked at the ocean.

 

"Are you here for the weekend?"

 

"Five days," Hermione answered. "A little vacation."

 

"Are you here on a vacation as well or just visiting Draco?" Hermione asked, attempting to steer the discussion away from her. She was flattered to have the man's attention but unaccustomed to it.

 

"I've come to see him. And how do you know Draco?"

 

"We're friends," Hermione replied.

 

"Oh?" he asked, suggestive humor in his smile.

 

"Not _that_ sort of friend," Hermione clarified.

 

"No?"

 

"No," Hermione repeated, wondering why everyone assumed that a man and a woman were more than friends when they said that they were friends.

 

"Ah.” He paused a moment, then asked, “Will you join me for lunch?"

 

Hermione peered at Lucius, wondering the basis of his motivation. There was unexpected male appreciation in his expression that made her insides quiver. Her split from Ron had been months ago and the possibility of a vacation romance held more appeal than she'd have guessed. Strange that Draco didn't elicit a response from her while his father did.

 

Lucius was being ruthlessly hunted by the Ministry. He had not surrendered himself at the end of the war. Lucius had all but disappeared. Why on earth had he risked Draco's reputation and freedom by coming here?

 

"I won't be... intruding on your vacation?" she asked.

 

"Please, do," he answered.


	2. Chapter 2: Next Evening

"What are you doing with her?"

 

Lucius had heard the door and knew that only his son would enter his room. He also knew that Draco used that tone when he was sublimely angry.

 

"What?" Lucius asked, stepping out of the bathroom. His hair was too sensitive for drying spells and he'd been drying it with a towel.

 

"With _her_ – with Hermione."

 

Immediately, Lucius realized that he and his son shared an interest in the same witch.

 

"Charming witch, Draco. You never mentioned," he drawled, returning to the bathroom to finish his business.

 

"Charming?" Draco repeated, so angry he could barely speak.

 

Lucius donned a dressing robe; "We shared a delightful meal yesterday."

 

Draco sputtered, drawing his father's unwavering attention.

 

"Are you alright, son?" Lucius summoned a glass of water and offered it to him.

 

"I invited her here for a reason," Draco snapped.  

 

"Oh?" Lucius asked, an awful sensation slipping into his gut. He hadn't gotten the impression that the lovely witch was involved with anyone, particularly, his son.

 

"Father, I intend to court her," Draco announced.

 

Ah, Draco had not yet expressed himself to Hermione. Lucius looked into his son's face. He saw strength and cunning and desperation for understanding. Lucius understood perfectly; however, it was obvious that Draco did not.

 

"No," Lucius said.

 

"I beg your pardon," Draco growled.

 

Lucius moved away. He would spare his son worse pain in the future.

 

"She's not for you."

 

Draco laughed bitterly, following him. How many times had he heard that before? _Not for you_ was the refrain of his childhood. "Is she for you, then? Is that what you've decided?"

 

Lucius poured himself a real drink and shrugged. "Perhaps, but not you."

 

"She may figure out who you are..." Draco began to warn but stopped at his father's dark glance.

 

Lucius was bothered more than he should have been. No, the witch didn't know his identity. Would she notify the authorities if she did? Would she run? Hermione had spoken against the Ministry on several processes and practices. There was a chance she wouldn't turn Lucius in.

 

"Why aren't you on your way?" Draco demanded, irritated at his father's continued presence and worried about the Ministry finding out he had been here, on the island. This was a business, after all, and still had to meet Ministry guidelines.

 

"I'm here to say goodbye to you, Draco," Lucius replied softly. Leaving Draco for the rest of his life might be best for him but Lucius was uncertain he could stay away. Draco had so much life ahead of him. How could he absent himself from it? Love, a wedding, perhaps children...so much to experience.  

 

"Perhaps you should say it and be on your way." Draco snapped. He'd waited too long to ask Hermione out and now, of all wizards, his father stood in his way.

 

"Draco, once I do, you shall not see me again."

 

A dull pain throbbed in Lucius' chest as his son said nothing. Draco strolled to the sliding door and looked out at the ocean. Lucius had taught him too well; his face was unreadable and Lucius found himself suddenly uncertain that he should stay. He reminded himself that Draco was angry and spoke in anger. 

 

"A few days, only. I'm not ready to disappear forever." It cost something for Lucius to say it aloud and he hoped Draco understood.

 

Without looking at him, Draco nodded and left the suite.

 

~*~

 

Hermione had enjoyed dinner with Luna and her father. As she strolled past the pool, Hermione's mind fixated on Draco. He'd been mysteriously absent all day and even the wait staff didn't know his whereabouts. She dipped a toe into the pool but found it too cold and thought she might as well head to bed. However, distraction came in the form of spotting 'Draco's uncle' at the bar.

 

During their lunch the day before, Hermione sensed no malice from Lucius. She was curious about his interest in her – why he invited her company. She hadn't been able to glean anything from him and surmised that he was lonely. Other than keeping her amusement at his appearance internal, Hermione's only discovery was that they seemed to share a love for similar books. And, unmistakably, a mutual attraction.

 

"Cassius," Hermione said, slipping onto the barstool beside the man. His expression lightened considerably when he saw at her. It was gratifying.

 

"Ms. Granger," he said.

 

The sound of Lucius' voice struck a tone in Hermione's memory; she knew his voice well. How could he possibly believe that he had her fooled? Hermione ordered a daiquiri and wondered if she was being too bold sitting beside him uninvited. As Hermione sipped her vacation-appropriate blended drink, the wizard said nothing.

 

"I can't get over the color of the ocean here," she said. Lucius nodded in distracted agreement.

 

"I'm sorry. Would you prefer to be alone?" Hermione asked, noting his continued silence and scowl.

 

He shook his head and turned towards her, slipping a hand over her thigh as if it was something he did every day. Hermione's skin was electrified with the intimacy of the touch. Her mind left casual interest in the dust and began picturing Lucius without his swim trunks.

 

"No," he said, shifting on the barstool to be closer to her.

 

Fire lit through Hermione's insides to pool low in her stomach; she couldn't want him more. Inviting a man into her bed was not something Hermione did. Ever. But Lucius set her afire. Besides, she was on vacation. A fling would be an unexpected but welcome addition to her holiday.

 

"Do you have someone waiting for you at home?"

 

Lucius heard the witch's question and knew what she was really asking. She was offering precisely what he needed: an escape. With no thought to consequences, he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her palm. The hitch in her breathing stirred his blood.

 

"No one," Lucius replied, delicately nibbling on her fingertip. Her glassy eyes and parted lips made him want to purr.

 

"Where's your room?" she whispered.

 

~*~

 

Hermione and Lucius emerged from his room due to hunger around noon. They chatted easily on the way. Hermione barely noticed that Lucius frequently touched her; tucking a strand of curls behind her ear, caressing her bare arm, pressing a quick kiss to her fingers. He had just let go of her hand when Hermione spotted Draco. The younger Malfoy stood on the threshold of the lounge, watching them.

 

Draco felt his father's betrayal like a hex. It was obvious that the two had been intimate. Hermione had let Lucius kiss her fingers without surprise. Draco was half-considering drawing his wand when a dreamy voice beside him spoke.

 

"Your father's face looks funny. Why's he charmed like that?"

 

Draco glanced at Luna and then quickly at the lunch guests in the lounge. His father and Hermione were looking at Luna – they'd heard her. Draco wanted to disrupt them but he didn't want his father caught! He took Luna's elbow and directed her out of sight.

 

Lucius stared after Draco and Luna. "What did she say..?"

 

Hermione took control of the situation before any guests put one and one together. She grabbed Lucius' arm, much like Draco had taken Luna's, and Disapparated them away.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione Apparated them to a secluded beach. Lucius was staring hard at her as he stepped quickly away. Hermione's heart stuttered at his blank expression and she drew her wand, dripping nervous sparks that smoldered on the sand.

 

"Hermione," he said, face as emotionless as his son's dreadful mask.

 

"Lucius," she breathed. "It's alright. I knew it was you..."

 

"You knew..?" he repeated, as if struggling to believe her words. A sliver of hope cracked his mask.

 

Frustrated with his awful camouflage, Hermione lifted her wand and pointed it at him. _"Finite Incantatem!"_

 

Lucius held up his hands, "I am at your mercy, Hermione."

 

A rush of emotions filled her to espy him as he should be; all white and pale in the blazing sun. She was relieved and terrified at the same time. Before her was a wizard that had singled her out in his prejudice. It had been easy to pretend that he was someone else when he looked a little unlike himself. Draco, she had forgiven but it had taken time.

 

Lucius followed Hermione as she stumbled away from him, looking as though she'd be ill. He wanted to explain. "I'm here to say goodbye to Draco and then I shall disappear, forever."

 

"But you hate me," she muttered, wand tip in the sand.

 

Lucius shook his head. "No... ...No, Hermione."

 

"What have I done..?" she groaned and sank onto the sand. The reality of a one-night-stand with Lucius Malfoy was not a situation she was prepared to face.

 

"I meant to leave you none the wiser..."

 

"Give me a moment, Lucius," she said, attempting to gather herself. She still held her wand.

 

"Do you mean to summon the Ministry?"

 

Hermione felt herself center a bit and got up, again. Ah, that was it. He was worried for his own skin.

 

"No," she answered softly, going a bit numb.

 

She felt his hands squeeze her arms and realized he was holding her. He pressed his lips to hers and she closed her eyes. He was Lucius and always had been. Hermione gradually relaxed against him. _Lucius_...

 

They sank into the sand together and Lucius pulled her onto his lap.

 

"I'm glad to see you," she said.

 

"Mm?"

 

"Cassius looked so like you – it was a bit disturbing."

 

A chuckle rumbled through Lucius' chest.

 

"Thank you," he murmured, pressing a kiss on her neck. Hermione closed her eyes.

 

His touch felt different, seeing him without a disguise. Her blood burned hotter, his warmth seared her deeper. It was almost frightening.

 

"I don't, typically, play along while being deceived," Hermione whispered.

 

"Of course you don't, Darling."

 

Hermione moved as if to get up but Lucius held her tight, hands on her hips.

 

"Wait," he said. "Do you feel that?"  

 

For a moment, Hermione was mystified. Then, he shifted and she felt him, pressed intimately against her. She moaned as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her. He rocked his hips, teasing her. He continued moving against her until she was desperate. Giddy heat roared through her veins. 

 

"Please," she begged. "Please, Lucius..." Saying his name sent a dark thrill through her. She never saw him draw his wand but the clothes between them vanished and they lost themselves in bliss for a time.

 

After a languorous rest on the warm sand, Hermione strolled back to the resort with Lucius in his disguise.

 

"How long will you stay?" she asked.

 

"The day, the night," he said.

 

"Perhaps you should spend the rest of it with Draco, then." She said, feeling melancholy.

 

"If the ungrateful boy will allow it," Lucius muttered with no thought to Hermione's age relative to his son's. And then added, "And you will spend the night with me..." He pulled her close for a kiss and Hermione felt it then. She was more than attracted to him... She was growing to care for him. Perhaps, because she knew him – knew his history.

 

Hermione spent her day reading in the sun. Or, attempting to read. She swam in the ocean and ate by the pool, watching the couples. They kept to their pairs, immersed in their worlds, happy. She wondered if she would ever find the same happiness. She tried to picture herself with Draco but couldn't; her brain conjured Lucius, instead. It was a pointless path of thought but Hermione, frustrated, couldn't stay off of it.

 

It was just before dinner when Hermione was finally approached by Draco. His white, linen robes were the wizard's nod to keeping cool in the heat. Hermione noted that he looked good in them as he fell into the deck chair beside hers. She watched him as he glanced at their surroundings before speaking.

 

"Do you know that I invited you here to ask you to be my girlfriend..?"

 

Hermione felt the blood drain from her face. "No," she stared at him, aghast and embarrassed. Harry's warning surfaced in her memory. She squashed it and hoped he never heard the truth; there'd be no living with him. Draco was her friend...

 

"Nothing has gone the way I planned..." Draco muttered.

 

"I'm sorry, Draco. I – I wouldn't have agreed."

 

"I rather figured that out," Draco replied with a narrow-eyed glance.

 

"Sorry," Hermione offered again. She reached towards him to touch his arm but he held up his hand to wave her off. He got up and began walking away. Hermione wondered if her friendship with Draco was over.

 

"Enjoy the rest of your vacation. Alright?"

 

Hermione solemnly nodded, torn that she didn't feel worse. She hadn't come to the island looking for romance. Perhaps, if Lucius had looked like himself, she wouldn't have spent the night with him. Now, she was tangled with Lucius. Cassius would have been easy to part with; she could have said good-bye with a light heart. Her soul did not part from Lucius Malfoy so simply; there were too many connections in their history. Hermione was suffering from an emotional attachment. Spending one more night with him would do nothing to sever it.

 

Standing outside Lucius' room, Hermione hesitated knocking one moment more. She could let him go and that would be that... Or she could spend the night in his arms and say goodbye a few hours later.

 

~*~

 

"I'm leaving today."

 

"Yes," Hermione replied softly, relishing the feel of Lucius' hand slinking slowly up her thigh even with a sheet between his touch and her skin.

 

"I do not wish to endanger my son's enterprise further," he said, pressing kisses to the back of Hermione's neck.

 

"I understand," she said with a sad smile that Lucius couldn't see.

 

As if he knew she was hiding something, Lucius pulled her onto her back and leaned over her.

 

"I will miss you..." he said, pale gaze moving fondly over her face.

 

Hermione reached up and traced the stubble on his jaw. "You are not the wizard I thought you were."

 

"Oh?" asked Lucius with a sardonic smile.

 

"I will miss you, too," she confessed, the truth of it nearly choking her. She had just found someone around whom she felt herself. There was no need for her to dumb-down her words and no need for her to curb her sexual appetite. Lucius met her, word-for-word and kiss-for-divine-kiss.

 

"Come with me," he hissed, slipping a teasing hand between her thighs.

 

"That isn't quite what I had in mind," Hermione answered coyly.

 

"You have another idea?"

  
"Surrender. Place yourself at the Ministry's mercy."

 

"No," Lucius said lightly.

 

Hermione felt an actual pain zip through her. "Just 'no?' Without another thought about it?"

 

Lucius absently touched her hair. "I have thought about it. I cannot and shall not. The Ministry is unpredictable and I no longer waste my resources there."

 

"I would do everything in my power to see you have a fair trial."

 

Finally, Lucius seemed to take the conversation seriously; he went still. "Hermione, are under you under the impression that I am innocent?"

 

Something like fear filled Hermione. She assumed that Lucius' liaison with her proved his innocence. She went cold and prickly. Surely she misunderstood.

 

"You are accused of murdering six witches and wizards of mixed blood," she said, feeling as though time had slowed.

 

Lucius nodded.

 

Hermione disentangled herself from Lucius and his bed. She watched the wizard follow her and wanted to cry. _What had she done?_

 

"There was a group of us – we all cast spells – I am certain that I am responsible for the death of at least one of them."

 

"Just one? Oh, that's alright, then." Hermione shrugged sarcastically.

 

"I no longer concern myself with how much wizarding blood a witch or wizard may have..."

 

"Obviously," Hermione began looking around her for wand and robes.

 

"I never meant to mislead you."

 

"Only about your identity," Hermione huffed.

 

Lucius reached her wand before her. He held it out, "Well, yes."

 

Hermione took her wand and summoned her belongings. The wizard caught her swimsuit before it reached her and tossed it away. Hermione was nonplussed. Lucius stood before her without a stitch of clothing as if daring her to push him away. Hermione struggled with her principles and keeping her gaze off of his particularly impressive anatomy. She noticed the detested mask slipping over his features.

 

"You knew it was me," he finally said.

 

"But I didn't know how much I would-"

 

Lucius arched a brow.

 

"Care," she finished.

 

It was as if someone flipped a switch. Lucius' emotionless mask fell instantly away and he pulled Hermione into his arms. She let it happen and it felt glorious.

 

"You have bewitched me," he murmured against her temple. "Come with me."


	4. Epilogue

"Mind if I join you, Mr. Potter?"

 

Harry glanced up from the Daily Prophet to find a witch smiling at him from under a dark hood.

 

"Er," he hesitated. There were hardly any other patrons in the Leaky Cauldron at this hour.

 

The figure pulled her hood back enough to show her face and Harry peered at her. When he recognized her, he was thunderstruck. He gasped and moved as if to get up but the witch held an authoritative finger to her lips.

 

"Hermione!" he hissed as loud as he dared.

 

"Hi Harry," she said, slipping into the seat across from him with a wide grin.

 

"Everyone thought you were dead," he whispered, green eyes still wide but turning cautious.

 

Hermione's smile saddened. "It was necessary," she replied quietly.

 

"Why?"

 

"Oh, Harry, I fell in love," she sighed.

 

"And the sentence for that is death?"

 

Hermione's grin returned at his teasing. "With Lucius Malfoy," she said so softly that Harry wasn't certain he heard her correctly.

 

Harry stared hard at his old friend, waiting for the punchline. She stared back, waiting for Harry's reaction. He frowned and looked sightlessly down at the newspaper.

 

"I just wanted to see you and tell you that I'm well," she said in a thick voice. Harry almost let her go but she was one of his dearest friends – death notwithstanding.

 

"Wait," he said as she got up. "You're happy?"

 

Hermione nodded and rubbed a hand across her bulging stomach. "Never more in my life," she said with a self-effacing shrug.

 

Harry didn't understand her choice but accepted that she'd left the wizarding world of her own volition six months ago. He was elated to discover that she was not, in fact, dead. He gave her a long hug before saying goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Beta:** TarnishedArmour and Scripturient  
>  Prompt: Hermione takes the advice of her friends and finally takes a holiday. Never having been to – you decide the place – she endeavors to explore the area and see as much of the local sites as she can. When she arrives she encounters an old acquaintance, someone she never imagined spending any real time with due to old prejudices. You decide who she meets and the circumstances. What happens? Do they kiss? Do they discover some old magical manuscript? Do they become friends or more?  
>  **A/N:** Oodles of thanks to Mistress Malfoy for cheerleading me into writing this fic. It would not have even been started if not for her. Written for DHLane for the 2015 Granger Enchanted Fic Exchange, some artistic license applied to the prompt. I was inspired by the other prompts, too, so you may recognize the plot of my next fic! I hope you like 'Getaway!!'  
>  **Originally published:** June 2015


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